Back in the Day
by siofrafire
Summary: Before the funerals, before the burn, before the shadow world of cloak and dagger consumed their lives they were all just kids. They may have started on different paths, but eventually their lives collided. Some roads were filled with dysfunction, some with pain, and some with angst, but it made them who they are today. Part 1 of who they were before ending up together in Miami.


Back in the Day

Michael was looking in his rearview mirror, he half expected the police to be chasing him. He didn't really like to steal things, he knew it was wrong, but sometimes it was necessary, and today was one of those days.

He had to get a car for his mom so Nate could go to the emergency room. His good for nothing father was out on another bender and Frank took their only car with him. Nate's temperature was becoming dangerously high so his mom was left with no choice but to call an ambulance to take Nate to the hospital. Michael walked over to his mother and hung up the phone before she could finish dialing the number. "I'll be back with a car ma, and I won't be long." He didn't want her to have the burden of paying for an ambulance on top of everything else she needed money for. Madeline would have put up half of fight if she didn't already know money was tight and she was doing everything she could just to hold onto the house.

Michael knew he could hot wire a car so that wasn't a problem, his dad had showed him how to do it once while he was drunk. Frank was bragging about how he used to lift cars for joy rides, but getting away with it was a whole other matter. He knew if he got in trouble with the police again the authorities wouldn't release him to his mother's custody, this time he would end up in Juvenile Hall at least that's what the judge had told him the last time he was in court. He didn't mind doing time in Juvey, in fact he knew it would be better than being at home with his father, but he couldn't stand the thought of leaving his brother and his mother alone unprotected from Frank. Michael knew he would do whatever it took to get the job done and not get caught.

Michael justified his behavior by telling himself if he returned the car in the same condition as he found it, then he would just be borrowing it, and not actually stealing it. He took off to the corner grocery store and took Mr. Kelvin's car; he was the night manager so as long as he got it back it time Mr. Kelvin would be none the wiser. He never wanted to think of himself as an actual thief because in his mind that's exactly what his father was and he didn't want to be anything like his father.

* * *

Madeline knew it was terribly wrong to put her son in the position of having to steal a car, but she was grateful to have a vehicle to take Nate to the hospital. Her nerves were on edge because she was worried about Nate, and because she didn't like taking the boys to the doctors. Doctors made her anxious, not for herself, but because they always asked so many questions. In those days when doctors suspected domestic abuse if the victims didn't speak up against the perpetrator then they just had to look the other way. Madeline was terrified that someone would find out the truth about their home life and she rarely sought out medical attention except when it was absolutely necessary. Having a nursing background came in handy on more than one occasion in the Westen home.

Sometimes when Frank got carried away on one of his drinking binges they had to come up with cover stories for their injuries. Michael knew the danger of the wrong people finding out the truth, so sometimes he would make up a game with Nate and help him pretend and memorize an acceptable story about how they got hurt.

Madeline's nursing days had brought her much joy; she had always enjoyed taking care of people…now it seemed like a lifetime ago. She wondered how in the heck she ever got into such a mess while she watched her ten year old son Michael drive them to the hospital. She cuddled Nate closely in her arms as he began hallucinating from the high fever. She whispered to him softly in the back of a stranger's car while tears of regret ran down her face.

* * *

Frank had insisted that Madeline quit her job as a nurse once they got married so she could be a proper wife and mother to their children. In the beginning she thought it was sweet that Frank wanted to provide for them and have her stay home with the kids, but that feeling didn't last very long, especially when the money disappeared. Frank had a number of extracurricular activities that always seemed to take money from their family.

Frank was a compulsive gambler and the money was often gone before the needs of the family were met, and if he wasn't blowing it on gambling then it was alcohol, and if it wasn't alcohol then it was women.

Once Madeline told Frank she would go back to work to help pay the bills. She insisted that the family needed the money but all Frank heard was that he was a loser, and that he wasn't man enough to provide for his wife and kids. It was the first time that Frank had beat Madeline severely enough that she found the courage to leave him.

Michael had hoped for years that someday they could get away from Frank and the day had finally come. Michael couldn't stand to see his mother's bruised face; he wished he was big enough to protect her from his father's outburst, he had become somewhat of an expert and directing Frank's anger towards himself so that Nate and his mom wouldn't get the brunt of it.

As soon as Frank passed out Michael helped Nate pack his things and Madeline left for her mother's house with her kids in tow behind her. She wasn't going to let Frank treat her like this any longer, she had finally reached her breaking point.

Michael was so happy they were going to his grandmother's house. She didn't live that far away; sometimes he and Nate stayed the night or the weekends with her. They loved being there because they always felt safe with her. She made the best cookies and she didn't mind when Nate and him played loudly. They could even watch whatever they wanted to on her TV. Frank always wanted it quiet in the house and he never let them near his television set, so needless to say being at grandma's house was a welcomed reprieve.

Even though Michael's grandma's house kind of smelled like Bengay it was the sweetest smell in the entire world to him because it was always mixed with the smell of fresh baked cookies. She served full glasses of ice cold milk and she even let them have seconds if they wanted it.

Her house was a great place to get a good night sleep too because Michael knew he would never wake up in the middle of the night to his parents fighting or Nate crying from hearing Frank knocking over furniture in a drunken stupor, and this time he was even more grateful because his mother was just as safe as they were. Knowing he didn't have to worry about her while he was gone made this the best night ever.

* * *

"Everything had gone so wrong." Madeline thought to herself. Drop by drop silent tears washed down her face, Michael could see her crying in the review mirror. He hated seeing his mother cry. He felt helpless and small when she was sad or upset.

Madeline's tears were mixed with distant memories of how her life got so turned around. She had fallen head over heels for Frank. She knew there was something special about him from the moment she had first laid eyes on him.

She met him at the hospital she was working at. He had been in a car accident and he was one of her patients. She didn't know it at the time, but her life would be forever changed when she fell under the spell of the handsome stranger the ambulance brought in that day. Her heart was easily stolen by the charming, witty, passionate man that became so dear to her during his stay.

Every time she came into his room he would tell her what an angel she was and how the sparkle in her eyes made him feel better than any medicine she could give him ever could. He had a way of making her feel like she was the most beautiful girl in the entire world.

When Frank was released from the hospital he asked Madeline out on a date. She had already started having feelings for him and she agreed to go out to dinner with him. After only one date she knew that he was the one for her. His charisma was infectious and he already had her heart in the palm of his hand.

Every moment with him was special, and he filled her thoughts daily whether she was asleep or awake. Madeline could think of nothing and no one else. Those early months were a magical time for her, and she wanted to build a life with her prince charming.

* * *

It was a whirlwind romance. Madeline had dated a few men before Frank, she even went out with one of the doctors from the hospital a few times, but she was looking for something more. She wanted someone who was exciting and fun, and Frank was exactly what she had been hoping for. There were sparks of electricity between them, something she never quite felt with any of the other men she had dated.

Frank was rugged and edgy, he liked good food and fast cars, and he always made her feel like she was the center of his universe. He liked to go dancing and to the movies, and he always took her to the finest restaurants. He loved to buy her flowers and candy, and he spoiled her like she had never been spoiled before.

He was so much fun to be around and the way that he looked at her made her melt, she felt like he could see into the very depths of her soul. He was a great conversationalist and he was always interested in what she had to say. She couldn't imagine being with any other man besides Frank.

However, there were warnings that she ignored, many signs that she overlooked because she was blinded by young love. Even from the beginning she knew he was an extremely jealous person and that he had anger problems. He had showed her his true colors a few times before they were married, but she looked the other way. She justified his behavior and she rationalized his unreasonable over protectiveness of her. She told herself it was due to his immense love for her.

Her mother had warned her about Frank. She never liked him from the moment she met him. She wanted Madeline to forget about him and date the kind doctor that absolutely adored her daughter, but Madeline wouldn't hear anything about it. Frank was who she wanted and the only man she wanted to be with. She thought her mother was boring and old fashioned, and that she just wanted to control her life.

Once Madeline remembered Frank took her to the beach. She had bought a cute two piece bathing suit specifically for the occasion. They had been invited to a Frank's company picnic at the gas company, and she wanted to look her best for him. She was excited to finally meet some of Frank's work friends.

She had been wearing a nice sun dress when Frank picked her up for the picnic, and when it was time to go swimming she took her dress off, just like all the other women had done, but when Frank saw her bikini he flipped out.

He grabbed her by her arm and marched her straight to the car to make sure nobody could hear him. "Ouch! What's the matter Frank? Stop it! You're hurting me!" He squeezed her arm even tighter, "Don't make a scene in front of my friends or you're going to be sorry. What are you some kind of a slut or something?"

Madeline started to cry and had no idea why he was acting like this. "You want all of these guys looking at you?"

"No, Frank, I wore this for you, I thought you would like…"

"You thought I would like you looking like some kind of a cheap whore? Get in the car now! You look ridiculous!"

Madeline was crying and didn't understand how the man that she loved so dearly could say such cruel things to her. Her arm was in pain, but the pain of his words hurt even worse.

She sat sobbing in the car waiting for him to return with her purse and her dress. Frank told everyone that she wasn't feeling well and that they had to leave.

When he came back to the car she had sat there long enough with the pain amplifying in her arm from where he squeezed it and the humiliation of what he had done to her still stinging, that by the time Frank returned she was seething with anger. "Take me home Frank, and I don't know if I ever want to see you again!" He slapped her hard across the face and she became hysterical, she couldn't understand why he was doing this.

Frank knew he had crossed the line and immediately begged Madeline for forgiveness. "Maddie angel, I'm so sorry, I just love you so much!"

"How can you say you love me when you said such horrible things to me, and you HIT me Frank?" She was holding her face where the sting of his slap still echoed on her flesh.

"Maddie, I'm sorry, I just got crazy thinking about other men looking at you. You're so beautiful and I didn't want any of those guys thinking that you're just some kind cheap toy they can play with."

Madeline was afraid and she was still crying, but Frank was so passionate about her, she was confused. "You can't act like that Frank! If I knew it was going to bother you I never would have worn it."

"I know Maddie, I know. He was almost whispering now. He had tears in his eyes. I promise you angel, I will never act like that again. I just can't be without you, and I don't want anyone else thinking you don't belong to me."

Madeline had never been with somebody that loved her so much. Frank kissed her tenderly and passionately. Her head was reeling with uncertainty and she couldn't think straight. "I need to be with you Maddie."

She had been saving herself for marriage, but Frank just made her feel things she had never felt before. He gently caressed her cheek where he had slapped her and delicately kissed her face over and over again, she could feel his tears splashing on her hot cheeks. "I can't wait any longer Maddie; I need to be with you now. Maddie angel, no piece of paper could ever prove to you how much I love you. I want to show you how much you mean to me." She shook her head yes. She never could say no to Frank, and so he drove her to his apartment.

She was frightened and had just been through something traumatic with him, but somehow his kisses and his touch made everything he had done melt away and disappear out of her thoughts, and all she wanted was to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her.

The voice of reason tried to rage against the power that Frank held over her, but their need for one another quieted that voice into stillness. She knew after the night they spent together that she would forever belong to him, and she thought she could help him change if she was just more understanding and more patient with him.

* * *

Now she wished she could undo all that she had done, she felt so much guilt for all that her children had been through because of her decisions to stay with Frank. It wasn't because she loved him anymore that she stayed with him; all though a part of her would always love the man he could be when he was sober. She had lost her confidence under his thumb; she utterly believed everything he had repeatedly said to her over and over again through out the years. She didn't think she could do anything on her own anymore. She was afraid to leave him for so many reasons, afraid to raise the boys all on her own, she was even afraid that Frank may kill her and that the boys would be raised alone by him. He had threatened to do that on more than one occasion. The first time he told her he would kill her was when she had left him to go to her mother's house.

He showed up the third day they had been staying with her mother. She was still bruised and battered from what he had done to her. He knocked on the door, but her mother told him to go away. Madeline's mom, Victoria, grabbed her late husband's shotgun. Frank said he would break the door down if she didn't open it. Nate and Michael were in the spare bedroom in the corner of the closet and Nate held his hands over his ears in Michael's lap, Michael wanted to hear what they were saying.

Michael was silently praying that they wouldn't open the door for Frank, and he thought eventually his father would have to go away. "I have a right to my children; you think the court would give them to you? I'm their father!"

"They won't when I show them the bruises you left on me, I'm going to the police today Frank, and there's nothing you can do about it." Michael almost leapt for joy after hearing his mother's words.

"You know it's really easy to have an accident if you're not careful Maddie. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you angel. I mean you could be driving the kids to school one day and your breaks could give out, and I worry about two women staying all alone here unprotected. You know I hear house fires are started all the time by people who FALL ASLEEP when they are SMOKING!"

Madeline knew she was cornered and she couldn't live with putting her mother's life in danger by staying with her. Madeline believed that Frank was capable of making good on his threats. She began to unlock the door. Her mother begged her to stop, but she just looked at her mom with desperate eyes. "Mama please look after the boys for a couple of days." Michael ran into the living room. "Don't go with him ma, he's just going to do it again."

"Shut your mouth boy before I shut it for you." His grandmother stood between Michael and Frank. "You lay a finger on that boy and it's the last thing you will ever do." She held the shot gun steady in her aging hand. Madeline put her hand on Michael's shoulder, "Its okay Michael, everything is going to be okay. You listen to your nana and help her take care of Nate." He couldn't understand why she was going back to that monster, and he hated her for leaving with him.

Madeline knew Michael was upset with her, but she knew she had to go back with Frank and try to make everything okay again before the boys came home. She hoped in a few days Frank's anger would blow over, and Michael would forgive her.

* * *

Frank spent the next year trying to make up for what he had done. He only had a few drinks a day and he stayed away from race track; he even managed to stay away from his mistress. He saved enough money to buy a brand new Charger. He loved the car and taught the boys how to work on it. Madeline tried to remain hopeful that Frank had put an end to his old ways, but she was always waiting for the other shoe to drop; and all though she didn't know it, so were both of her boys.

* * *

Frank tried to interact more with Michael and Nate. Nate was happy to have his father pay attention to him, but Michael never forgave him for what he had done to his mother, he didn't trust him, and he didn't want anything to do with him.

There was always tension between Frank and Michael. Frank didn't take kindly to Michael's rejection, but he tolerated it, at least for a short while when everyone tried to pretend that things were normal, well everyone except for Michael. Nate would get mad at his brother for being so hard on their dad. "He's changed, Michael; can't you at least try to get along with him?" Michael knew it was just a matter of time before Frank showed his true colors.

Madeline's thoughts came back to the present; her boy was quickly becoming a man, way before he should have to. She was both sad and disgusted that her ten year old son had to steal the car they were driving to get to the hospital. "What kind of a hideous mother allows that to happen?" She thought to herself. She was proud of him too; proud of his courage to do whatever it took to protect their little family. She had hope that her boys wouldn't grow up to be like their father, but the rage she saw behinds Michael's blank stares had her worried. She was frightened that he might not be able to escape it no matter how hard she tried to make up for it what their father's chaotic life had done to them.

"We're here Nate baby, we're here. You're going to be okay, Michael got us here honey."

* * *

Sam was sitting at his father's table. He loved his dad, but he knew his father would never understand him. His mother was more understanding and more forgiving of his inability to want to be an exact replica of his father.

Sam was home for a week from boarding school because he had been suspended, and he was being lectured on the ills of being far too rebellious for his own good. "How do you expect to get into an Ivy League college son? You can't become a senator if you end up in a correctional institution young man! We pay a lot of money to keep you in that school, and we expect you to tow the line. You have disappointed me Samuel." He hated hearing those words coming from his father's mouth, he tried to be what he wanted him to be, but somehow he always ended coming up short.

His father was a scholar and a senator, like his father before him. Sam had no intention in being involved in politics. He liked working with his hands. He was always taking things apart and putting them back together again, something his mother noticed from a very early age.

The books he read were made up of the stuff of battles and wars, cowboys and Indians, spies and superheroes. He could care less about art and literature and he didn't like speaking in public either. His father was always pushing him to join the debate team, but he was only interested in playing on a football team and joining ROTC at a regular school.

He begged his mother to convince his father to let him go to a public high school. He could charm his mother into almost anything. She thought the sun rose and set with Samuel; he was an only child and he had his mother's full attention and devoted adoration.

Sam's mother was a beautiful woman. She wasn't raised with money she married into it, and because of that Sam always felt his mother understood him more than his father ever could. Sam just wanted to be a regular kid.

He thought he finally had tipped the scales in his favor by telling his mother he would study hard to get straight A's and stay out of trouble if he could go to Analy High. Next year he would start high school and he wanted to do it on his terms not his father's.

His father thought boarding school was the only place for a young man of breeding and wealth to acquire a proper education, and to learn the skills and sports of a gentleman. Boarding school was meant to help prepare him for a life filled with etiquette and form to move freely with ease in the world of money, something his mother was still a bit uncomfortable with, although anyone observing her would never know it; she was the most graceful woman Sam had ever seen.

His father, Samuel Winthrop Axe the second, wanted his son Samuel Winthrop Axe the third to follow in his footsteps, but Sam Axe, as he preferred to be called, had other goals in mind.

* * *

Sam was suspended for sneaking out with a high school girl by the name of Ashley Devoir. She lived at the all girl school located on the other side of the lake from his all boy school. Sam commandeered a single scull used by the crew team to make his way across the lake in the middle of the night.

He had seen Ashley earlier that week at a sporting event that both the boy's and girl's school attended. She had noticed him too; she smiled and waved at him. He was big for his age, athletic and had a sharp wit, and people had always commented on how handsome he was. He wanted to go talk to her, but he knew if she found out he was still in junior high school she wouldn't give him the time of day.

All week long he had thought about her, he couldn't get her out of his mind and once Sam made up his mind there was no stopping him. He had to see her again.

Sam broke into the main office of the all girl school to find out what dorm room Ashley was living in. She was on the third floor of tower B and he scaled his way using the lattice and the thick vines that had been growing there for decades to reach her floor. Once he made it inside the building, he snuck passed the floor monitor and made it all the way into Ashley's room.

He had to pick the lock which was no problem for him because he had learned how to do that years ago. "Easy, breezy, lemon, squeezy." He told himself.

Ashley was sleeping and so was her roommate. He covered Ashley's mouth with his hand and she screamed a muffled scream. Her roommate stirred in her sleep from the noise. Sam motioned for Ashley to be quiet. When he let his hand go she smiled and was happy to see him. She whispered, "I remember you. You're going to get us in trouble."

"Only if we get caught, or you tell your roommate." She giggled softly, "Oh believe me, I wouldn't tell that stale piece of bread anything. She is one big hum drum. I saw you at the event, when I waved at you I thought you would come talk to me. How did you know what room I was in?" "I have my ways."

"Say, you want to sneak out and go for a walk?"

"Yeah, but how are we going to get out of here the door is locked down stairs."

"Yeah, but the window to the monitor's bathroom isn't. That's how I got in here."

"What if she catches us?" "No way, she's making more noise than a freight train; she's sawing more logs than a lumber jack."

"I don't even know your name." She whispered.

"It's Sam, Sam Axe."

"Okay Sam, Sam Axe I'm Ashley."

"Yeah, I know I asked around." The roommate was turning over and Sam dropped to the floor under Ashley's bed.

Once Ashley confirmed her roommate Jill was still sleeping she leaned her head over the bed and in a very soft voice told Sam, "Let me put some pants on then we can go." Sam was glad it was dark because she would have seen him blushing if it wasn't.

Sam got them past the monitor and he helped Ashley scale down the wall. Once they hit the ground they ran deeper into the trees. "Wow! Sam Axe, how did you make it to this side of the lake?"

"I took the single scull."

"You're on the crew team?" He didn't want to lie to her, but only high school students could be on the team, so he just said, "Well, what do you think? I had to row it over here."

She laughed, "I'm surprised I haven't seen you on the team, are you new?"

"Well, I'm not old", he said.

"So, what are we going to do Mr. Axe?"

"We can take a walk if you like."

"Yeah, I guess we could do that." She lit a cigarette that she had hidden in her shirt pocket. He couldn't believe he was talking to a senior girl, and she was sophisticated too; she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. "You want a drag?"

"No, I'm good."

"Sam, did you come all the way over here in the middle of the night just to take a walk with me or did you have something else in mind?" He wasn't exactly sure what he should say. "You're awfully quiet Sam," She giggled, "Are you shy Sam?" "Shy? Me? No not at all." His palms were sweating and he had no idea what to say to her.

"Sam, do you want to kiss me?" He had never kissed a girl before, but he knew he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by. He wasn't exactly sure what to do, so he just went for it, he leaned in and kissed Ashley trying to mimic her and follow her lead.

"Wow! You're a great kisser Sam." Sam enjoyed the kiss, but he felt a little bad for deceiving her now about how old he was, he could kick himself because he was too much of a boy scout to continue to lie to her.

"The truth is Ashley; I never kissed a girl before."

"Really Sam? You could have fooled me. You're an absolute natural." Sam smiled.

"Ashley, I have to tell you something, I hope you're not going to be mad at me, but the reason you've never seen me on the team before is because I'm not on the team."

"Oh, how come Sam?" She felt his arms, "you have the muscles for it." Sam stammered just a little bit, "it's…it's because I'm in junior high."

"What? No way! How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"What? Fourteen? There's no way, my goodness you're just a baby." That stung harder than any slap ever could have. He looked towards the ground. She repeated herself "14?"

"Yeah, it's true. Are you mad at me Ashley?"

"No Sam, I'm not mad. A little surprised maybe, but I do think you're kind of brave to come all the way over here in the middle of the night just to see me." Ashley leaned in and kissed Sam again, only this time she whispered in his ear, "I'll teach you more than just how to kiss if you want me to Sam and lightly bit the bottom of his lip." Sam couldn't believe his luck, not only was she beautiful, but if he wasn't mistaken she was offering him a gift he would remember for the rest of his life.

Ashley brought Sam into manhood that evening and he would never be the same again. They had about an hour before the sun came up, and they both had to get back to their dorms. "Sam, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I can't see you again, you're just a little too young for me." He wished things could be different, but he knew she couldn't be seen with a guy from junior high. "Yeah, I understand Ashley; I don't know what to say to you, how do I thank you for something like that?" Ashley laughed and kissed him again, "It was fun Sam, and you have nothing to worry about with the girls. You're a real natural, and if you remember everything I taught you, I promise you women are going to love you for the rest of your life." Sam smiled, "I'll never forget it Ash…

They made their way back to the dorm and Sam helped Ashley back into her room, but unfortunately when Sam was crawling out the window to go home the monitor caught him.

She grabbed Sam by the ear and was yelling at him all the way to the office. She woke up the head mistress so she could interrogate the delinquent.

They both tried to get to the bottom of who he had been with but Sam wouldn't give them a name. They waited for the boy's head master to get there and collect him. "Hopefully you can get more information than we could. He won't tell us who was participating with him in such folly. He is a wretched hooligan and we expect you to break his silence. He was punished severely, but even being swatted over and over again with the paddle the size of a small oar that was drilled with extra holes for extra sting, Sam wouldn't give up Ashley's name.

He would have been expelled if it wasn't for his father's money. His father's deep pockets kept him from having to permanently leave school. He was hoping that wasn't the case, but at least he had a week to work on his mother to help him get into a public school for his high school years.

* * *

Fiona Glenanne lived in a small rural village in Ireland. She grew up as one of seven siblings and she loved her parents very much. However, she absolutely adored her Da and she wanted to be just like him in every way. When she was old enough to handle a weapon properly, around the age of nine, her father began to teach her about surviving their quasi military lifestyle.

Having brothers made it easy to learn how behave like a man, she could fight, spit, and drink with the best of them, but underneath her rough exterior her beauty could never be denied, even through her tom boyish ways one couldn't help but notice her attractiveness.

Fiona's Father belonged to small unit of the IRA that was connected with the Dublin Brigade. He provided importation and storage of arms for the Northern units, and often times he helped raise financing through robberies and other nefarious means.

At the age of twelve Fiona proved herself to be a great marksman and when she was put up against her brothers' skills, even the older ones; she could put them all to shame.

Her father was very proud of her and after proving herself proficient in shooting he took her under his wing and exposed her to every facet of the Irish Republican Army way of life.

Fiona learned how to handle explosives, and make homemade bombs. She had a talent for it, and even before the age of fifteen she was making runs for the IRA.

Her father raised her at his knee on the romantic stories of her people, and he included the importance of the role of their family helping their people become free from oppression. He schooled her on the fateful day of Bloody Sunday and it grew her patriotism even more. She hated the British soldiers for what they had done to her unarmed people and she was even more determined to fight the injustice.

Fiona's father, Donovan, encouraged Fi to use her feminine charms to gather intel from assets and others when necessary. Her mother never liked her being used in such a fashion, but her father always insisted that she had the head of a man, and the body and charms of seductress and when she put them together she was an unstoppable force that could be used to further their goals.

He was careful to teach Fiona how to protect herself, there was a line she was to draw, he never expected her to have sex with anyone; he just wanted her to use her flirtation skills to distract men from what was really going on, whether it be to divert a man attention so someone could plant a device undetected, or steal money from a mark, or gather information for the cause. She learned the art of keeping men at bay while teasing them just enough to get the job done; she always put the brakes on before it went too far. A few times she had to use her fighting skills to stop an attack, but she was good at what she did, and was never in too much danger from her perspective.

As a young child Fiona had seen her fair share of her father and older brothers getting beat and she even witnessed a few assassinations attempts on their lives as well, so at a very early age she learned to not be afraid.

Her lack of fear and boldness took her far in the organization, and Fiona started developing quite a reputation in her part of the world. With the help of her father's tutelage and her ability to flow in and out of different social circles she began to bring money in by becoming a respected arms dealer.

Fiona's mother had lost her daughter years ago to her father's ways, but her sister Claire was just like her mom. She was extremely close to her ma and sometimes Fiona was jealous of her sister's relationship with her. She knew Claire must feel the same way about Fiona's relationship with her da. Just like any other siblings they fought and had squabbles but their family was close and they loved each other fiercely.

Claire was a lot more delicate in nature then Fiona, and she was quite a bit younger too. She was the baby of the family, and even as she grew older she had always stayed away from her father's associations with the IRA and Fiona was glad about that because it was a very dangerous life and she knew her sister didn't have the stomach for it.

* * *

Fiona was sixteen and working for the IRA. For the first time in her life she had gotten in over her head, and she couldn't talk or fight her way out of the situation she found herself in.

Fiona was having dinner with an asset she was gathering intel from, she had an enjoyable evening with the young man and when they were through eating he invited her up to his room for a drink. She knew the rules of staying as safe as possible, and she never went to men's hotel rooms, but she kind of liked this guy and thought he was cute. He was only about twenty years old, and she didn't think he was too dangerous, nothing she couldn't handle anyway. She told him she could stay but only for one drink, and she thought it would be a fun way to find out more information in an assuming way.

She didn't know it at the time, but he had put something in her drink to heavily drug her. Fiona quickly became incapacitated, and when she could no longer move on her own he handcuffed her to the bed post. She tried to yell out, but he stuffed a sock in her mouth, she tried to fight but she wasn't in control of her limbs anymore, they felt like they were weighed down by sand bags. She couldn't lift them no matter how hard she tried.

He toyed with her for a while, like a cat playing with a mouse, and when he was through having his fun he pounced on his prey. He proceeded to have his way with her and that was Fiona's first exposure to sex.

He had no idea who she really was or who how connected her family was, because if he did he never would have brought her to his room. The Glenanne men were notorious for not blinking an eye when it came to gutting a traitor, if they ever found out what had happened to Fiona they would have tore him limb from limb.

Hours later, after repeatedly raping her he finally let her leave, but before he did, he held a knife to her throat, "I'll kill you if you tell anyone bitch and remember this, no one would ever believe you if you told them anyway. There were plenty of witnesses that watched you leave the restaurant and follow me to my room. No one would take the word of a whore."

Fiona couldn't say anything, she was so ashamed that she had gone to his room, she knew he was right. She was over confident, and she didn't think anything like that could ever happen to her.

The drugs still had some lasting side effects; she didn't feel steady on her feet. All she could do was gather her clothes and put them on before she quietly left his room. She walked for hours in pain and when she finally arrived home all she wanted to do was take a hot shower, she felt filthy and wanted to get his smell off of her body. When she got to the house her mother was waiting up for her, "Where ya been lass? I waited all night for ya to come home girl!"

"I'm sorry ma, I got side tracked,"

"Side tracked ya say, well I'm not in the habit of being worried half out of my mind Fiona. Your da had no idea where you were, don't let it happen again or I'm gonna show ya what it means to get beat within an inch of your life! Do ya understand me Fiona Glenanne?" Tears were gathering in the corner of her eyes. Something her mother had never seen before. "It's unsettling to see ya so upset girl. Go on, go to bed. We'll talk about this in the morning over a hot cup a tea."

* * *

Fiona took off her clothes and looked in the mirror, she had some bruising on her body and some red marks on her wrist where the handcuffs had been. When she got in the shower she watched remnants of dried blood swirl down the drain.

She knew her virginity was gone now, but she wasn't exactly sure how that was supposed to make her feel, she didn't feel much of anything right now except for shame, shame for going to his room, shame for not being able to defend herself, shame for not killing him when he finally let her go. She finished washing the sickening stickiness off of her breast and abdomen and every other place he violated her. She didn't think she could ever tell anyone what had happened to her, but one thing she knew for sure, she would make certain the son of a bitch would pay for what he had done, and she would make damn sure that he would never do it to another girl ever again.

She got her night clothes on and as she stared at the ceiling above her, she resolved to be able to pick her way out of any lock that she ever came across; no one would ever be able to keep her in chains again.

Devlin had left the hotel after he raped Fiona, even though she didn't know where he was, Fiona had resources everywhere in Ireland, and it didn't take her long to find out where he was staying.

Fiona had no problem with violence, she grew up with it all around her, and she had plans for Devlin. The only thing she hadn't decided yet was if she would let him live to suffer in agony for the rest of his life, or if she would kill him and be done with it. She was leaning towards letting him suffer for the rest of his life, but she would decide what to do when she saw him face to face.

* * *

Fiona had been planning her revenge for almost two months. She worked on becoming a pretty good lock picker in her spare time. When she decided it was time to teach Devlin a lesson, Fiona followed him home from his local pub one night. She stayed in the shadows and waited until his light went out and she was sure he was fast asleep. She skillfully and quietly broke into his home. She walked into his bedroom and held the cold barrel of a gun to his temple while he slept. He was startled awake, and she tossed the handcuffs to him. "Cuff yourself or I'll pull the trigger." Mockingly he said, "You don't have the guts to pull that trigger." She smacked him in the forehead with the butt of the gun and he was profusely bleeding from the split flesh that wounded his head.

He whimpered in pain. "Tell me again I don't have the guts to pull this trigger you bastard, I dare you!" Stammering he replied, "Wha…what do you want?"

"What do I want? Oh that is a rich question and I have a very detailed answer for you Devlin. I want you to pay for what you did to me you sick freak, now put the cuffs on; I'm not going to ask you again!" He cuffed himself with one cuff and she cuffed the other to the bed. "Do you want to know what it feels like to be violated Devlin?" He didn't answer her "By the time I'm done with ya you're gonna be wishin you never crossed my path."

Fiona stuffed a sock in his mouth as a little reminder of what he had done to her. "That's so no one can hear the screams that will assuredly be coming to ya, I promise you that." After she tied his legs to the post, she ripped his clothes off with a knife. She let the knife dangle over his manhood. He shook his head no in terror as he tried to scream out no, but no noise escaped the muffling of the thick sock she had jammed in his disgusting mouth; she saw the fear in his eyes and she quite enjoyed putting it there. She let the tip of the knife make a nick on the tool he used to hurt her. "You're not so brave now, are ya?"

She brought a needle and tattoo ink and began to tattoo the word rapist on his chest in big giant letter. She took her time and made sure the ink was deep enough to last a life time. He passed out from the pain of it. She sat in a chair waiting for him to come to and when he finally did, she told him, "I'm Fiona Glenanne and I'm the daughter of Donovan Glenanne and if ya know what's good for you, you'll leave and never look back, and remember this you feeble coward, the next girl you try to hurt may be somebody else's Glenanne, and you just might not walk away with your life. She took her knife and told him she would leave him another reminder that she showed him mercy. "I spared not only your life, but your pathetic wanker too." She cut off the tip of his pinky, and once again he passed out from the pain and the shock of what she had done to him. She tied a rubber band around his finger and left gauze on his side table. She uncuffed him and untied his legs and then proceeded to walk out of the house.

No one ever knew Fiona had been raped, and she would have never looked back herself if it wasn't for the fact that she hadn't had her period for two months now. She didn't want to think it could be true, but all the signs were telling her that she was with child, and her secret shame would soon no longer be a secret.

* * *

Jesse Porter was at the Boys and Girls Club waiting for his mother to come home from work. She worked long hours to put enough food on the table for the both of them and to pay their bills. He was always one of the last kids to be picked up from the club, but he understood his mother was only doing what needed to be done.

His mom always had a smile on her face when she picked him up no matter how hard her day had been. He hoped someday he would be a good enough basket ball player to play professionally and then he could take care of his mother in style for the rest of her life.

He asked her once where his father was, and all she would tell him was that he died when he was a baby. He could see how sad she was when he asked her about him so he left the subject alone and hoped someday she would tell him more about his dad.

Jesse's mom was his world and she was his. Every night he would help her make dinner and they would talk about their day over their meal. Sometimes after dinner the two of them would walk to Our Lady of Guadalupe's church and light a candle for all of the people who were lonely and alone. She always told Jesse even though it was just the two of them; they were very blessed to have love, a warm bed, and food in their bellies.

Jessie's mom's name was Christina and she was his biggest fan. She always watched him play basketball when she could; she encouraged him to do well in school and she always helped him with his homework. He was one of the brightest students in his entire school, and she had big dreams for his future.

Once Jesse asked his mother, "Why don't you ever go out on a date mama? You're so pretty and you should have someone nice to take you to nice places. "You're the only man I want in my life Mr. Tibbs." That was a nick name she had given him when he was a toddler because he would always ask for her tip money. She used her change when she was a waitress years ago to occasionally buy him a push pop off of the ice-cream truck. Every time he heard the music from the truck he would say, "I want your tibbs mama, your tibbs for some ice kweam." She would say, "Okay Mr. Tibbs let's go catch the truck and get some ice kweam." After that, the name just sort of stuck.

* * *

Jesse waited as he had always done for his mother to pick him up from the Boys and Girls Club. He was the last one there today. The teacher waited with Jesse patiently for Christina to come. She had never been late past the point of closing in all the years he had been going there. Jesse knew something was wrong, but the teacher assured him she would be along any minute. A half an hour went by, then an hour. Miss LaVene opened the building back up so she could use the phone to call Jesse's mom. She called her home and there was no answer, so she tried her work number. The manager of the gas mart answered the phone and when she asked for Christina, he asked who was calling. She identified herself and somberly he told her that she had been killed in a robbery.

There was no other emergency contact information for Jesse Porter. She looked at the young boy by her side waiting to hear why his mother was late and she didn't know how she was going to tell him that his mother was gone.

Jesse could sense that something terrible had happened, but he never imagined that his beautiful mother was dead. He heard Miss LaVene explain what happened, but he refused to believe it. "NO, No you're wrong, my mother isn't dead, she can't be! It has to be a mistake! Please take me to her work, I know she's there, she has to be there Miss LaVene. Miss Lavene hugged the young boy tightly while he wailed in her arms and she brought him to her home for the night. She wished that she could take the sweet boy that she had grown to love over the years; he was kind, respectful, bright and was always looking out for the younger children. If she didn't have six mouths of her own to feed she would gladly taken him in.

It took hours for Jesse to finally fall asleep. He had no idea what he was going to do without his mother. He was all alone in this world and he couldn't imagine spending a day without seeing her cheerful smile.

* * *

Jesse woke up to sounds of Miss LaVene's family trying to be quiet while they ate breakfast, but being as there were six of them it was hard to keep the noise down. He hoped it had all been a terrible nightmare, but when he heard the unfamiliar voices he knew it had all been true.

He wondered when he could go back home, and who he would live with. He knew someday he would find out who killed his mother and he would end their life like they ended hers. He wanted to cry again, but he didn't want all of those kids looking at him and he vowed he would use his pain to fuel his desire to find her killer.

He wished that he was grown already, so he could get started. Miss LaVene stayed home from work that day to wait with Jesse while Child Protective Services came to pick him up. Jesse said goodbye and he never saw anyone he had ever known ever again.

He was allowed to go to his house to get a few things to take with him. He didn't want to leave and he fought and kicked the social worker to stay. The house smelled like his mom, and he didn't want to leave it. The woman literally peeled his fingers from his mother's bed; he grabbed a picture of his mom before being dragged away to the group home where he would spend the next few months in.

Most kids that had gone through what Jesse went through would have ended up angry and bitter, but somehow he kept the sweet spirit his mother had raised him to have. He wanted to become a police officer when he grew up. He knew if he could do that, then he could bring justice to his mother by catching her killer.

He dreamed of the day he could tell his mama that he made things right. He knew she was looking down from Heaven and he wanted her to be proud of him the way she always had been.

Jesse didn't get to go to any kind of funeral for his mother because there wasn't one, but he was given the St. Christopher's medal that his mother had been wearing when she was killed. He always wore it and he never took it off.

He had gotten into a few fights at the group home when other boys had tried to get his "girly necklace" from him. They teased him mercilessly for wearing it. It wasn't fair, but he got labeled a trouble maker because of the beatings he gave the other boys that tried to take his necklace. He would rather die than give up the only thing he had left of his mother.

Jesse always had a great sense of fairness and justice because his mother had taught him to always think of others, and always take care of those that were weaker and less fortunate; it was ingrained even deeper into his consciousness when his mother had died. He never wanted to see the bad guy win.

Sometime when Jesse fought it was because he was protecting other kids from bullies. He never could just stand by and watch people get pushed around by someone just because they were smaller.

Eventually Jesse left the group home and moved from foster home to foster home. Because he often got in trouble for fighting no one was ever willing to adopt him because of it. He didn't understand why they couldn't see he was just protecting the weaker kids at school. He knew deep in his heart he wasn't wrong and anytime he fought it was always for a good reason. He wouldn't let the moves bring him down, he kept up his grades and kept his focus on someday being able to find his mother's killer.

* * *

Barry never had many friends in elementary or junior high school. He was a bit awkward and preferred anything with electronics than most people. It's not that he didn't want friends, but it just seemed harder for him then other people when it came to the social aspect of things.

Barry's father left when he was eight so it was just him, his brother, and his mom since the day his dad had walked out their door, until very recently.

He couldn't understand how his mother could pick such a looser to hook up with. Every time he heard the name Rick the tiny hairs on the back of his neck would stand up, and he wished he could send the low life packing especially since his mother let the Neanderthal move in with them. She only dated him for about six weeks when she invited him to move in with them.

Barry felt bad that his mom had been alone for so many years, so in the beginning he tried really hard to like the shmuck, but the guy just got under his skin. There was just no getting along with such an egotistical jerk.

Rick spent every waking moment reliving his glory days as an all star athlete on his high school foot ball team. From what Barry could tell it's the only thing the guy had ever accomplished. He couldn't stand him sponging off of his mom even if he did make her happy.

Any time Barry would try to talk to his mom about it she would tell him he didn't understand grown up matters and to mind his own business.

Rick didn't like Barry either and every time his mother wasn't around he would make it a point to say or do something mean to him, he took every opportunity to humiliate him for his lack of athletic abilities.

For some reason Rick wasn't quite as hard on his brother, Barry was grateful for that, but he knew if Rick stayed around much longer he was going to have to figure out way to get the hell out of there.

* * *

Barry buried himself in video games and computers; one because he was good at them, and two it was a world he understood, better than most. He didn't have to navigate through any kind of social hierarchy among the electronic elite; he was at the top of the food chain in the nerdy shadow world of computers, comic books, and cosplay.

Most people didn't even know what cosplay was, but Barry used his skills in drama to bring characters to life when he would go to sci-fi conventions.

Teachers liked Barry because he always did his homework and he knew all the answers to the questions anytime they would ask one, of course that made him the target for a lot of bullying.

Barry knew he was smart, but he would have traded his brains for some muscles and athletic ability any day of the week. Those kind of guys always seemed to have all the fun, and all the girls!

Being a math wizard and a video game nut never got him any dates. He mastered Pac-man, Missile Command, Centipede, Donkey Kong and Tempest. Nobody could touch his numbers for Tron, Zaxion, or Q-bert. Barry was one of the first of his friends to have a home console, he could beat anybody at Tetris, Mario Brothers, and Legend of Zelda. However, other than a couple of guys that liked the same sort of things he did their only fun consisted of talking about the latest development in what home computers were becoming capable of, he knew his social life was seriously lacking. He hoped High School would somehow be different.

About three weeks into Barry's freshman year he had already been stuffed in a locker, a dumpster, and now he was about to be stuffed in a toilet. He tried to fight the two gargantuan seniors off, but all he got was a bruised rib for his feeble efforts.

Mike Westen just happened to walk into the boys' bathroom just in time to see two guys about twice the size of their prey give the poor freshman a swirly.

Mike had studied martial arts since he was a young boy and even though his Sensei tried to teach him to mange his anger it always seemed to get the best of him, especially when he saw a bully sticking it to a smaller weaker classmate.

Michael had been suspended several times for fighting, but most of the time it was in defense of someone getting the crap beat out of them. He knew he might get kicked out of school if he got in another fight, but he just couldn't leave the poor kid to fend the guys off on his own.

Mike decided to help out the freshman, "Hey Mike we got no beef with you." "Well you do now assholes." He sent the two bullies limping away with their tails between their legs, one with a black eye and the other with a bloody nose.

He helped the kid to his feet, and without saying a word he turned around and walked away. Barry was slipping on the wet floor where he was dripping with toilet water trying to catch up with Michael Westen.

He had seen him around the hallways and hanging around the auto shop and once in a while in the cafeteria. He always wondered what it would be like to be "that" guy. Everyone knew who Mike was. He was a fighter and a loner, but he was smart too. The girls were crazy for him, but he never seemed to be too impressed with any of them. People thought it was because he must be seeing an older woman like from college or something. Barry hollered out, "Hey Mike, Michael! Wait up a minute!" Michael kept his pace and headed for the school parking lot. Barry caught up with him, "Hey man, I just wanted to say thank you for what you did back there, by the way my name is Barry." Barry stuck his hand out, but Michael just acted like he didn't even see it.

"Look Barry, they're going to be looking to get you back for what happened back there, I'm not sure I did you any favors. A word of advice, don't go to the bathrooms alone anymore."

"Yeah, okay. Hey Mike, if you ever need anything just let me know." Michael didn't say anything. "No, I'm serious man, if you ever need your grade changed, or you know you want in on a game, or need something to party with I can hook you up."

"Yeah, okay Barry, I got to roll."

"Yeah, Mike, no problem, maybe I'll see you around." Michael nodded his head and got in his car. It wasn't until Michael left that Barry started worrying about the warning Mike gave him. "Damn it, what did I get myself into?"

* * *

When people found out what Michael did for Barry the bullies left him alone, in fact he had even been invited to some parties since then. Barry was making quite a name for himself, and it actually helped that Mike Westen had his back, or so everyone believed since Barry did whatever he could to make that look like that was indeed the case. Barry's new business was beginning to flourish and his High School career was looking a lot more promising.

Barry had recreated himself and now he was the go to guy for almost anything anyone needed. He was even the hook up for some college guys now. His entire world began to change. He even played Nate in Guys and Dolls in his drama class, and for the first time he didn't get beat up for having a star role in a musical, of course it helped that Mike was in his drama class too. Mike was a natural, he could speak with any accent and his ability to make you believe he really was who he was playing on the stage was phenomenal.

Barry perpetuated the idea that Mike was his close personal friend. He would purposely "run" into him where ever possible including when he was walking out to his car or when Michael was on his way to class. He tried to be seen with him as much as possible. He knew Mike wasn't really a "close friend" but if other people thought that about him and it just happened to make his life a little bit easier then he was good with that.

Having people believe they were tight was the best thing that had ever happened to him, well almost the best thing, his new girl Carley was actually the best thing that had ever happened to him.

To Barry's surprise over time Mike did become somewhat of a friend, he would at least consider him a good acquaintance.

Mike's connections to the criminal element helped Barry move in with a circle of people that were beginning to use his math and computer talents for their needs. Barry learned everything he could about taxes, and banking systems, and moving money to off shore accounts.

People in the Miami scene were beginning to take notice of his particular skill sets, and it wasn't long before Barry was helping people shield their money from the IRS along with a few other things. For the first time he had a clear direction of what he wanted to do with his life, the money was good and once he got a taste of what the "good life" could be he knew things would never be the same for him again.

* * *

Frank was livid; he had been called to get Michael from the police station once again. Michael had been picked up a few times before for stealing cars, but not since he was about twelve years old, he hadn't been caught in years. He had his own car now, a 1970 Tor Red Cudda, but sometimes he liked to take a car just for the fun of it. The only good thing his dad had ever did for him, as far as he could see, was to teach him how to work on cars and appreciate the beauty of a cherried out Mopar. Out of respect for the Mopar crowd if Michael ever took one of those cars for a joy ride he was always careful to return them to their owners in the same condition as he found them.

Sometimes when Mike was low on cash or needed some extra money he would lift a car and take it to a local chop shop, or sometimes he would race them, but he had rules for himself about such things. He never took a working man's car, and he usually only stole cars from other criminals, if he was really desperate he might steal a car from someone who was extremely wealthy, but he figured they were insured and it wouldn't harm them too much anyway.

Michael had been getting in trouble of one kind or another since he was six years old, so sitting at the police station waiting for Frank was no big scare for him. He knew he'd get beat for it, but by now he was used to Frank smacking him around.

Deep down he knew he could kick Frank's ass, at least for the last couple of years now, but he never put up a fight. He knew it would make things really bad for his mom if he ever put Frank in his place, so he just took what Frank dished out for the sake of Nate and his mother.

Michael had been fighting in an illegal boxing match, one that Barry was taking bets on. He was already a little bruised and banged up, but he won the fight. The cops busted the match just after Michael knocked out his opponent. They picked him up for illegal fighting and gambling.

Frank was surprised of the charges because up until now Michael had only been in trouble for boosting cars. As soon as Michael was released to Frank's custody they got in his dad's Charger and drove home.

"So you think you're a tough guy now?" Michael was silent.

"Answer me boy! You think you're a bad ass now? Making some green with your fist boy? You look like road kill to me; I guess you're not as good as you thought you were. You should be ashamed of yourself boy! If you get in that ring again you better make sure you don't get caught and come out the champ!"

"I did."

"What did you say boy? You back talking me?"

"No."

"No, what?"

"No, Sir."

"It sounds like you need a lesson in some respect!"

Michael knew what was coming next, and he hoped it would be over soon so he could clean up and sneak out to see Peggy.

Frank was pulling into the driveway when Madeline heard them come back home and went outside to meet them. Michael got out of the car. As soon as he closed the door Frank was in his face staring at him eyeball to eyeball. "You have something to say to me boy?" Frank puffed out his chest and rammed Michael back into the Charger. Madeline told Frank to stop it. She knew Frank would be in one of his moods after having to go to the police station to pick up Michael. "Frank I made your favorite dinner honey, come on in. There's a cold beer waiting for you too."

"I'll be in when I'm through talking to Mr. Big Shot over here. You know what your son got picked up for this time?" Madeline shook her head no. "For gambling and fighting."

"Michael, is this true honey?"

"What are you calling me a liar?"

"No Frank, not at all…I was just…"

"Woman you better keep your trap shut and get back in that house."

"But Frank I didn't mean…"

Frank was about to slap Madeline, but Michael got in between the two of them and started mouthing off to his dad so he would get Frank's attention off of Madeline.

"Why don't you come down to the ring one of these days dad and I'll show you what a bad ass I really am." Frank couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Oh you think you're tough now boy, tough enough to take on your pops now? Because I will school you right here, right now!" Frank punched Michael in the mouth and his lip was bleeding. Madeline was about to say something and Michael shook her off and nodded for her to go in the house. Madeline knew she would make it worse if she stayed so she turned around and went inside. "What? You ain't got no sting boy? Your just gonna stay on the floor like some mangy dog? Come on, take a shot!" Michael stayed on the ground because he knew if he got up his dad would hit him again. "That's what I thought little man…." Frank turned around and went inside the house.

Michael hated that man and someday he was going to put him in the ground. He thought prison would be worth it if it didn't mean leaving Peggy all alone.

When Michael came in the house Madeline followed him to the bathroom, she wanted to help him clean up his lip. "I don't need your help mom!" He shut the door in her face. Madeline knew she was losing her son, and she had no idea how to help him. The more she tried to help the angrier he got with her. She was worried she was going to end up getting killed or in jail.

* * *

Peggy wasn't like the other girls that were always buzzing around him. He never liked all the attention girls gave him because he was kind of shy, unless he was on stage. For some reason when he was on stage pretending to be somebody else he had no fear. Most of the girls at his school acted like air heads, and he just wasn't interested in them. He liked girls, but all the ones he ever met he just had no interest in.

Michael was smart and he did very well in school, he was even in honor classes. The only problems he had in school were related to fighting or truancy. Even with as much school as he missed, he never failed a test. Some teachers thought he must be cheating, but he never had to, he actually liked learning new things and doing well in school.

Michael had noticed Peggy ate by herself everyday underneath the bleachers at school. In fact she spent most of her time at school by herself. A lot of people would consider her kind of weird, but he thought she seemed interesting. Michael liked to observe people from a far and he began to notice her habits.

She always took off the flannel shirt she wore around her waist and put it on the floor so she could sit on it. Then she would grab a brush from her purse and brush her long black hair into a ponytail. It was the same routine every day, she would walk over to the vending machine, buy a coke and come back and sit down on her shirt. Then she would open a bag of Doritos packed in her brown paper bag, she would then take the top off of her sandwich. She crushed the chips in between the bread and smashed her sandwich back together again. She would put her earphones on and play her walkman while eating her lunch and reading a book. She never seemed to deviate from her routine, except reading a different book. Today she was reading The Fellowship of the Ring.

He thought she was pretty, a little mysterious, and she was obviously smart too. She didn't act like a bubble head when she was in class; she was in a couple of his honor classes.

One day he noticed she was wearing sunglasses, something that she usually didn't do. When she sat down to eat her lunch she took them off. He could see that she had a black eye, she tried to cover it with makeup, but it was still noticeable. He wondered how she got it. He was walking towards her, he wasn't sure why, maybe he just wanted to get a closer look. He had tried to work up the courage to talk to her before but he never got up the nerve. When he got close enough to really see her he noticed that she had other bruises, bruises on her arms too. They looked like fingerprints, like somebody had grabbed her and squeezed really hard. The same kind of bruises his mother had from time to time on her arms from where his dad had squeezed her arms while shaking her.

Michael didn't know how he got the courage to do it, but he sat down next to her. He could tell that she wasn't prepared to have someone get so close to her. She quickly grabbed her flannel and put it back on to cover her arms and she reached for her sunglasses to put them on too. Michael stopped her from putting them back on by putting his hand on top of hers. "How did you get the black eye?" It wasn't like him to be so forward especially with a stranger, but he wanted to know, actually for some reason he needed to know. "I…I ran into a door."

"Really? How did you do that?"

"I don't know, clumsy I guess."

"Oh, and those bruises on your arms?"

"What are you like interrogating me or something?"

"No, not really…just curious I guess."

"Well, I don't want to talk about it, and it's none of your business anyway."

"Yeah, oaky." Michael could see he was upsetting her and he didn't want her to ask him to leave so he changed the subject.

"So who are you listening to? Aerosmith."

"Cool."

"You into music?"

"Not really."

"Oh… it's like my whole world; I'll have to introduce you to some of the good stuff if you want."

"Yeah, sure I'd like that. How come you always smash your chips into your sandwich?"

"What are you some kind of creeper or something? Why are you spying on me?"

"Nah, I just notice things."

"I don't know why I do it, because it tastes good."

Michael laughed, "Makes sense."

"Here try it." She put the sandwich towards Michael's mouth. At first he backed his head away, but she insisted. "It's good I swear." Michael took a bite.

"See not so bad." Michael smiled at her, he wasn't crazy about it, but he didn't want to offend her again.

"Now that I've had a bite of your sandwich and you shared your lunch with me, we shouldn't be strangers anymore.

"Hi Peggy, I'm Mik…"

"Your Michael Westen, everyone knows who you are."

"Oh okay, I didn't know that."

"So what are you doing here anyway?"

"I go to school here."

"No duh, I mean what are you doing here under the bleachers with me?"

"Umm… I guess I'm talking to you."

"I know that, but why? Nobody talks to me, especially since Jake told the whole school that he slept with me along with his two jack ass football buddies at the same time."

"I hadn't heard that, not that I care or that it's any of my business."

"Well it wasn't true, he wished it was true…not that anyone believes me, the jerk was just pissed because he thought trailer trash like me shouldn't turn such a prize stud like him down. I guess he didn't like hearing no, so he said what he said."

"Wow! He sounds like a real douche bag." Peggy laughed, "Yeah, he is!"

Michael thought Peggy was easy to talk to. They talked for the rest of the lunch period when the bell rang Michael asked, "Hey do you mind if I sit with you again tomorrow at lunch?"

"No, not at all, I'd like that very much; it would be kind of nice to have some company for a change." They said goodbye and they went to their classes.

For the first time in a long time Michael actually felt happy and he was already looking forward to seeing her again tomorrow.

* * *

Peggy was used to disappointment; she lived in a trailer park her entire life with a mother that was addicted to drugs. She wished life wasn't so difficult all the time. Between trying to take care of her mother and putting up with her mom's boyfriend knocking her around from time to time she often dreamed of her real dad showing up someday to take her away from all of it. She knew he never would, but dreaming about it was nice.

Her mom liked to say that she worked as a bartender, but Peggy had known for the last couple of years that she was actually a stripper. Her mom had to make quick money to support her habit and her junkie boyfriend's habit too.

Most of the time Scott left her alone, but ever since her mother's "career" took a dive he was beginning to insinuate that she could "work" at the bar because she was so pretty.

Her mom wasn't making the money she used to. After years of drug abuse she was no longer the beautiful aspiring actress that she once was. She was too thin, and too strung out for anyone to want to pay to see her dance anymore.

Peggy wasn't as naïve as her mother thought she was. When the money ran out Peggy knew her mother had started sleeping with strangers to make ends meet, and her boyfriend not only allowed it, but he encouraged it too, he pimped her out so they could keep getting high.

Peggy didn't want to be anything like her mother, she studied really hard to keep up her 4.0 average, and she stayed away from drugs and alcohol too.

Unfortunately she never went out on more than a couple of dates with the same person because when things would get too personal she would end it. She never wanted anyone ever meeting her mother or seeing where and how she lived. It was a lonely life, but it was better than dealing with people knowing the truth about her.

* * *

Michael had a pep in his step when he got home for school, after spending time with Peggy for the first time in a long time he almost felt happy.

When Michael walked through the door Madeline was already cooking dinner. The familiar smell of cigarettes and Sloppy Joes filled the house. "Hiya mom,"

Madeline was a little surprised because Michael never greeted her when he came home from school anymore. If fact getting Michael to say anything sometimes felt just slightly less painful than getting a tooth pulled.

"Hiya honey, how was your day?"

She had asked him that question every day when he got home from school since he started kindergarten, but she never got more than his standard answer of "fine" since about seventh grade.

"It was great."

Madeline about choked on her cigarette. "Oh, well that's wonderful honey. What was so great about it?" She was already positive it must have something to do with a girl. "What else could make a boy his age light up like that?" She thought to herself.

"I met a new friend."

She didn't want to spook him and have their conversation end so she tried to play it as cool as a cucumber. "A new friend?" She asked as nonchalantly as she possibly could.

"Yeah."

Madeline had desperately wanted to hear more about his day, but Michael was through talking and he headed straight for his room. "Michael,"

"Yeah, mom."

"I'm glad you had such a nice day, and dinner will be ready in about ten minutes. Can you call your brother at Billy's house and tell him to come home for dinner?"

"Sure, mom."

Madeline had hoped he would tell her more when they sat at the table to eat dinner. Frank wasn't home yet, and if he wasn't home for dinner he usually stayed out until the early morning hours.

Madeline didn't mind because she enjoyed her time with the boys especially when Frank wasn't home to ruin things. He wasn't always terrible, but the worst thing about Frank was one would never know when he was going to explode. He could be fine one minute and flip like a switch the next.

Although Madeline had a nice conversation with Nate at the dinner table, Michael was a lot more closed lipped about his mysterious day than she had hoped. When dinner was done the boys did the dishes.

Madeline thought it was important for them to learn how to do things around the house so that someday they could be good husbands and help their wives out once in a while. She didn't want them to be anything like Frank.

* * *

When Michael was done with his chores he went to the garage and got his father's Aerosmith record. He knew if his dad came home and found him using his stuff he would get in trouble, but he really didn't care.

It wasn't that Michael didn't like music, but he hardly ever had the chance to appreciate it, he was always so engrossed in whatever project he was doing. If he wasn't studying for school, he was studying languages. He knew he wanted to travel someday, maybe backpack around Europe for a while, and if he wasn't doing that he was working on his car or taking things apart and putting them back together again. He was always tinkering with something.

He thought maybe someday he would be an engineer. He knew he should be headed for college soon but he still wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life.

Michael wanted to have something to talk about with Peggy when it came to music tomorrow because she had mentioned how important music was to her. So he played the Aerosmith record because that it happened to be the band she was listening too at the time.

It was their latest album Permanent Vacation; he put it on the record player and laid on top of the hood of the Charger while listening to it. When he heard the lyrics to Angel he thought of Peggy. "You're my angel, come and save me tonight." She was like an angel, and he thought maybe she could save him like the girl in the song. He wanted to be saved from whatever the feeling was that seemed to follow him wherever he went, when he was with her today the dread seemed to disappear. Somehow he knew it would be the same tomorrow when he was with her. He almost felt like he was free when he was with her and he never wanted that feeling to go away.

* * *

Michael hardly slept that night, all he could think about was meeting up with Peggy for lunch. He hoped he wouldn't blow it with her. He didn't want to seem too eager, she was really cool, and his legs seemed to carry him a little bit faster than he wanted them too. She was under the bleachers again waiting for him, and as soon as she spotted him she smiled and waved him over.

"So let me guess Doritos and bologna again?"

"Yep…You're a psychic."

"Something like that."

"So, tell me something Michael, you seem like a nice guy."

"Seem like a nice guy? I'd like to think I actually am a nice guy."

She laughed, "I'm sure you are, I was just wondering why you are always getting in trouble for fighting?"

"I don't always get in trouble…" He looked down at the floor. "I don't know, I see someone in trouble and I have to do something about it. I can't just walk away without helping."

"That's not a bad thing Michael, You got mad skills too because I've never heard about you losing a fight, and I even heard you did an underground match that the cops busted not too long ago."

"You believe everything you hear?"

"No, are you telling me I heard wrong?"

"Not exactly."

"Michael I was kind of wondering, do you think you could teach me a few things, so I could learn how to defend myself?"

"Defend yourself? Who do you need to defend yourself from?" Peggy was quiet for a moment.

"Umm, from you know like an attacker or something." Michael already knew something wasn't right about her home life. He figured maybe her home life was a lot like his.

"Peggy how did you get your bruises?"

"It doesn't really matter."

"It matters to me, I can keep you safe. Was it Jake? Cause I'll kick his ass!"

"Jake? No, it wasn't him. I still don't know you very well Michael, and I don't like discussing my personal life. Maybe someday I'll tell you who it was, but for now will you just teach me how to defend myself?"

Michael knew he shouldn't press the issue, but secretly he was already planning what he would do to the bastard that was hurting her. "Yeah, I can teach you a few things."

"Awesome when can we start?"

"How about this weekend, I can come to your house and show you a couple of moves that could help."

"My house? Ummm, no that's not such a good idea. What about your house?"

Michael didn't want her coming over in case Frank was home and in a bad mood or drunk. "Tell you what Peggy why don't we meet at the school. I know the custodian, he works here on the weekends and he'll let us in the gates for a six pack of beer."

"How do you know that? How come he opens the school for you? What do you do here on the weekends?"

"Because he's my friend, sometimes I use the workout room, or the library, or the track, sometimes I work on my car in the auto shop, and sometimes I do stuff in the chemistry lab, and I do it on the weekends because they have school here during the week. Did I answer all your questions, or did I miss one?" Peggy laughed…I think you got them all.

"Just one more, what the heck do you do in the chemistry lab?"

"I kind of have a hobby of making homemade explosives."

"Okay psycho, what the heck are you making homemade bombs for?" He was glad she was smiling because he didn't want her to think he really was a psycho.

"Well I know this guy who owns a junk yard, and if I slip him a twenty he'll let me blow up cars that are supposed to get dismantled. It's kind of fun, actually it's a lot of fun."

"Can I go with you sometime?"

"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone because he could get in a lot of trouble."

"Not a problem, your secrets are safe with me."

"I actually believe that, and just so you know Peggy, your secrets are safe with me too."

The way she looked at him kept him from thinking straight. "Well that's the bell; I guess we better get to class."

"Same place, same time tomorrow?"

"Sure thing Mike," Peggy leaned in close to him and kissed him softly on the lips. Michael could hardly believe his luck… "cool she likes me." He thought to himself.

* * *

Michael and Peggy hung out at the school that weekend, and every other weekend after that for a while. They talked about anything and everything including music, books, sports, careers, cars and eventually stuff about their home lives.

Michael was telling her about the time he escaped from his room to go see the Star Wars movie when he was six years old. "So, I got in trouble and my dad locked me in my room. There was no way I was going to miss the midnight release of Star Wars, so I pulled out some wooden boards by the heating vent and I crawled down the hole and out of the house. I just acted like I was with a family and snuck past the guy who was collecting tickets." Peggy laughed, "My goodness, you were quite the little rug rat Michael. Did your parents ever find out?"

"Yeah, my mom came in my room later that night to sneak me some food when my dad fell asleep, and of course I didn't put the boards back so she could plainly see what I did. She never told my dad about any of it. She waited up for me to come home to make sure I was safe. I thought she was going to be upset but she fed me a sandwich and tucked me in bed."

"You're so lucky Mike to have a mom that took care of you." Michael never thought of his mom as taking care of him. He always thought he took care of his mom.

"My mom's been strung out on drugs since as far back as I can remember. I was the one who made her breakfast, and fed her dinner when she could actually hold some food down. I never had anyone to tuck me in or wait up for me; I was always the one that made sure she was covered with a blanket. Sometimes I would even help her take a bath and wash her hair. Heroine does some major shit to people. She never hit me or anything like that, but she was completely neglectful. I didn't start getting hit until Scott moved in."

The only thing Michael wanted to do was to protect Peggy from ever being in that position again. He was a little embarrassed that he had been so hard on his own mom all these years after hearing about Peggy's home life.

He was falling in love with her; at least he thought it must be love. He wasn't sure he knew what loves was. One thing he did know was that he never wanted to be away from her. They had become close; she was closer to him than anyone else had ever been except for maybe Nate. He was going to take care of Scott for her; he just had to come up with a plan that wouldn't blow back on him.

* * *

Peggy finally told Michael the story of how Jake ruined her reputation at school, and how she got the black eye he noticed when they first met.

"I made the mistake of going out on a date with Jake. He was popular, played on the football team, and had his pick of any girl in high school. As far as I know he has only ever dated cheerleaders. When Jake asked me out I couldn't believe that he was interested in me." Michael found it hard to believe that Peggy thought so little of herself because in his eyes she was the catch of the entire school. "To say I was different than the other girls he dated was an understatement. They were debutants, cheer leaders, mall rats, you know the type; and I am more combat boots, flannels, jeans, and t-shirts.

He seemed like a really nice guy at first. I was hesitant to agree to go out with him because I couldn't imagine fitting into his world anywhere, but he was cute and very polite, and he seemed to be a true Southern gentleman." Michael wasn't sure he wanted to hear more about Jake's wonderful qualities, it was making him jealous, but he didn't interrupt her.

"Jake wanted to pick me up for our first date, but I insisted on meeting him at the restaurant we were having dinner at. I went to the thrift store earlier that week and found something I thought could pass as acceptable. Jake seemed to be pleased with how I looked that night. I felt a little awkward because I wasn't used to such a fancy environment, but he wasn't at all up tight, he made me feel at ease." Michael couldn't stand the thought of Jake taking her to dinner, but he kept himself from saying anything.

"When dinner was over he wanted to take me home, but I refused to let him drive me. I told him that a girlfriend was picking me up because I was going to help her with some schoolwork. I didn't want him to see where I lived. Jake seemed okay with that and invited me to a party later that weekend; we parted ways after a goodnight hug. I didn't know it at the time, but he already knew who my mother was, what she did to make money, and he already knew where I lived."

"I was really happy walking home that night. I couldn't remember when I had such a nice time. I was looking forward to going to the party with him later that weekend. When I got home my mother's boyfriend was waiting for me in the living room. I could tell he was a bit more agitated than usual, he was looking at me kind of weird too, it creeped me out and I wanted to get to my room and lock the door. He wanted to know where I had been. I told him my mother knew I had a date and she said I could go. He started saying some crazy stuff; he asked me, '"Why didn't he come here to pick you up? What are you some kind of whore that goes sneaking off with the boys instead of having them come meet your family and being proper like?"'

I didn't answer him and I headed straight for my room. Scott stood up in front of me and blocked my door so I couldn't get in. I told him I wasn't in the mood for his nonsense and I tried to push passed him, but he wouldn't let me through. Scott hit me hard across the face. He said, '"I bet you didn't tell whatever boy you were sneaking off with to leave you alone! Look at you all gussied up, you think you're grown now? I'll be the judge of that!"' He grabbed the back of my head and kissed me hard. I tried to push him off of me, but he was just too strong. He was trying to push me down on the couch when my mother came home.

"What the hell are you doing Scott?"

"I ain't doing nothing baby."

"The hell he isn't mama! He kissed me!"

"Don't say such damn awful lies Peggy!"

"Mama you saw what he was doing." Peggy was crying now.

"Quit being a drama queen, and go to your room and quit dressing like a slut around here Peggy! You're gonna get yourself in trouble!"

I couldn't' believe my mother had betrayed me in such a bad way. I mean she's never been a great mom and she has tons of problems, but I never imagined she could've turned her back on me like that, I mean she believed that creeper asshole over me. I don't know how, but I have to get out of there soon. Michael, I don't think I'm safe with Scott around anymore, and my mother has lost her damn mind. Mike can I ask you question?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Does it bother you that my mother is a junkie and whore, and that I live in a trailer?"

Michael didn't hold that against her at all. He thought that would be like someone believing he was just like Frank just because he was his son."Of course not Peggy, you aren't your mother, you are your own person. You don't ever have to worry about stuff like that with me."

Michael was already seeing red, he didn't know how he was going to get Peggy out of harm's way, but he knew he would do whatever it took to keep her safe, safe from her mother, safe from Scott, and safe for the rest of her life. Michael was quiet for a moment, he was sitting on the floor leaning up against the wall and motioned for her to come and sit between his legs. She leaned her head back on his chest and he held her tight. "Peg, no matter what you tell me, it can't change the way I feel about you, you know my home life is far from perfect. You and I aren't all that different from each other."

She wanted to believe him, she wanted to trust him, she just wasn't very good and trusting anybody, but somehow she knew that she would always be safe with Michael. She finished her story. "Well somehow Jake found out that my mother used to be a stripper, and that she was turning tricks for drug money. I guess Jake assumed I was like my mom. We got to the party and about an hour later he was already toasted. He wanted to talk in one of the rooms. I knew I shouldn't go because he had been drinking but I didn't listen to my instincts. I wanted him to… you know….like me.

He was telling me how pretty I was, and how he wanted to be with me. He started slobbering all over me, I could hardly breath. I told him that I wasn't interested in sleeping with him and I tried to leave. He got mad, I mean really angry and he pushed me on the bed.

He told me all about my mom and how gutter trash like me should feel honored to be with a guy like him. I didn't think I was getting out of there, but he was so drunk, I got a good hard kick in his jewels and he was down for the count. I high tailed it out of there as fast as my legs could carry me.

That following Monday when I went to school the rumors had started, and no one was interested in the truth. Everyone knew about my mom and they thought I was just like her. Guys started throwing money at me in the halls when I walked past them and asking me to do stuff, so eventually I just tried to stay away from everybody and that's how I ended up in my quiet place underneath the bleachers. You go to the same school Michael, how did you not hear all the rumors?"

"Who says I didn't?"

"You knew?"

"Well I knew what everyone had said about you, I've just never been the kind of person that cared much about what other people think."

"It wasn't true Michael; I've never slept with anybody." Michael didn't know what to say, he was never any good and that sort of thing, all he could do was turn her around and kiss her softly and hold her as protectively as he could. Peggy didn't know it, but Jake was about to get the snot beat out of him. Peggy melted into Michael's kiss, and she knew she would love him for the rest of her life.

"Michael I want you to be the first and the last person I ever make love to. I'm a little scared because I don't really know what I'm doing, but I know I want it to be you. She kissed him softly.

Michael had no idea what he was doing either. "Peggy, I've never been with anyone either." She smiled, "I can't believe it. Are you kidding me? Girls throw themselves at you all the time. I even heard you were dating a college girl once." Michael kind of laughed, "Really a college girl?"

"Yeah."

"That's news to me."

"Are you lying to me Michael?"

"No Peg, I'm not lying to you." He was sure his face was bright red.

"Michael, I know it sounds kind of sentimental, but I'm glad you've never been with anyone else. It's like less pressure you know? We don't have to worry about being compared to anybody." Peggy stood up and grabbed Michael's hand. "Let's go to the media room, we can put some music on and get some blankets from the nurse's office."

"Peggy, are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life Michael"

They both lost their virginity to each other that day. Michael knew he wanted to protect her always. He would find a way to get her out of her house, and out of Scott's reach no matter what it took to get the job done.

* * *

Michael was seventeen and a senior in High School. He was on the path to graduating early until he met up with Jake. After what Peggy told him over the weekend and all the details of what he had done to her, Michael was going to make him pay. Michael waited in the parking lot for Jake to get to his car. As soon as Michael knew Jake was looking he took a baseball bat and started beating Jake's prized Mustang. Jake was freaking out as he helplessly watched Mike smash all of his car's windows into a million pieces all around the parking lot. "What the hell Mike? What are you crazy? Stop it!" Jake tried to wrestle the bat away from Michael's hands. Michael threw the bat down on the floor and started wailing on Jake. He broke his nose, busted his lip and cracked his ribs. "That's for Peggy, asshole!"

The next day at school Michael was arrested for assault and battery and destruction of private property. Madeline was the one that got the call from the police. She didn't tell Frank because she knew he would beat Michael to a bloody pulp if he found out what had happened.

Madeline told Frank that Michael was spending a few days with her mother to help her with some repairs around her house. She didn't want Frank to know where their son really was. When Madeline showed up to Mike's arraignment she pleaded with the judge to let him get his GED and she promised she would have him join the army if he would just keep him out of jail. The judge wasn't hearing any of it at first, but Madeline had a way with people, and by the time she was done talking to the judge he reluctantly agreed to let Michael be released into her custody. He would allow him to enlist in the army, but if he was rejected or didn't complete his training for any reason, he would be remanded into custody and serve time in prison.

Madeline talked to Michael on the way home from court. "What were you thinking honey? They expelled your from school, and you could have ended up in jail! Why would you do such a thing Michael so close to graduation?"

"You wouldn't understand mom."

"No I don't, but maybe if you talked to me and tried to explain I could try to understand, Michael. This much I do know honey, you would never hurt anyone the way you did if they didn't deserve it."

"Jake hurt Peggy!"

"Who's Peggy honey?"

"She's my girlfriend."

"I knew you must have had one. You've been different lately Michael. How did he hurt her?" Michael explained the whole story and when he was finished telling his mom what happened, Madeline couldn't be angry with her son any longer, in fact secretly she was proud of him.

* * *

Madeline told Michael not to talk to his father about anything, when the time came she would give Frank the papers to sign for him to join the army. Until then they had two months to get his GED and get him in the army or the judge would throw Michael in jail.

Michael didn't want to leave Peggy, and he didn't know how he was going to tell her, he wanted to keep his promise and protect her from Scott and anybody else that ever tried to threaten her again.

He thought about it that night when he got home. He would ask her to marry him as soon as he could afford it. He knew he wanted to take care of her for the rest of her life, so he would just ask her sooner rather than later. He could make a home with her, one that was safe, and then if his mom or Nate wanted to come and live with him they could. Then everyone he cared about would be safe.

Peggy never regretted sleeping with the love of her life even when she found out she was pregnant. Michael had already asked her to marry him, and he asked before he even knew about the baby so she didn't feel like she trapped him. She knew he really loved her.

Madeline supported Michael in his decision to marry Peggy. She was sad that he had to grow up so fast, but he had done that in every other aspect his entire life. She liked Peggy, and she knew that Michael adored her. She hoped they would be happy together.

Madeline understood these things better than most. She too had gotten pregnant out of wedlock after the very first time of sleeping with Frank. Over the years she wished she hadn't told Frank that she was pregnant then he wouldn't have felt obligated to marry her.

The boys never knew it, but she had lost her first child before either one of them came along. She knew he actually didn't mean to push her down the stairs. They were tussling on the balcony of the apartment they lived in, and she tripped over a plant. She tumbled down the flight of stairs and she had a miscarriage. Frank was heartbroken that he had caused his wife so much harm and for a while he cleaned up his act. He tried to make things up to Madeline and he tried to be a good husband. For a while they were actually happy together.

Madeline made sure that Michael kept his secret; she didn't even want Nate to know what the plan was until Michael was safely away. She didn't want Frank to find out about the baby or the army because she was afraid of what he would do to Michael, and she knew he would never let Michael join the military.

Madeline had forged Frank signature the night before she took Michael to enlist in the army.

* * *

Michael spent the whole day with Peggy the day before he left to the recruiting office. They were sad that they would be separated for a while, but they knew it would be a sacrifice worth making for their future.

They hung out at the park that Michael had grown up playing at with Nate. He brought a blanket with them, and his grandmother packed them a picnic lunch. Peggy brought her boom box and they listened to music enjoying each other's company for the last time before he left for basic training. "Michael, are you still going to love me when I'm as big as a house?" "Of course, are you still going to love me when I'm old and bald?"  
"Umm…I'll have to get back with you on that one?" He mocked being punched in the face. "Ah that hurt!" Just kidding love, I will love you until the day I die!" Peggy curled up with Michael on the floor and they just silently watched the clouds passing overhead for a while.

Michael had a lot on his mind. He wasn't scared in the slightest about joining the army, but he was scared about being a father. He finally spoke up, "Peggy, I hope I don't disappoint you. You know I don't really know anything about being dad. You know all about my home life and how my dad was, what if I suck at it? I don't ever want to be anything like him and I don't know the first thing about taking care of kid."

"Well, that's not completely true Michael. You've been taking care of Nate ever since you were a small boy. You're the kindest person I know, you always put other people before yourself even complete strangers. Besides that you've shown me more love and have sacrificed more for me than my own mother ever has. If you can do all those things, you can be a good father, and I'll help you." Michael actually believed he could do anything with Peggy by his side.

"I'm happy I only have a month left of school. It's going to get harder and harder to hide the baby bump, and it's getting harder and harder to stay out of Scott's way too. He has my mom convinced that I need to work at the strip club when I turn 18."

Michael was thankful his mom and his grandma were helping them. If it wasn't for him being on temporary probation he would have put Scott in the hospital to keep him away from Peggy. Peggy would be 18 in two weeks, and his grandmother had already agreed to let her stay with her. "Peggy the day of your birthday you need to pack your stuff and come to grandmas. I'm sorry I won't be here to help you, but I don't want you anywhere near your mom and Scott after your birthday, you understand?"

"I know Michael; I'll be counting down the days until I can leave, and I'll be counting down the days until you get back from basic training too." He kissed her tenderly, "Me too Peg."

Michael had done all the prerequisites for enlisting. He got his GED, took his physical, took the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery test, all that was left for him to do now was sign the papers, take the oath of enlistment, and ship to Basic Combat Training.

He was surprised when his mother showed up the next morning with the signed papers. Deep down he thought his father would never agree to sign them. He was surprised and grateful; he didn't want to go to jail especially since he had a baby on the way.

Madeline brought Nate with her to say goodbye to Michael. She had to tell Nate in the car on the way to pick up Michael and Peggy at her mother's house. She knew Nate would be devastated and that he would be angry about Michael leaving, but she tried to explained to him that he didn't have a choice.

Nate's world was crumbling around him. The only time he ever felt safe was when he was with Michael, he couldn't imagine life without his brother, and he wondered what his mother and him would do now without Mike's interventions. Madeline told him about Mike going to jail if he stayed, but it still felt like his brother was abandoning him.

Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things Michael ever had to do, and he felt bad that he was leaving Nate and his mom alone with Frank. He never would have done it if he had a choice. He said his goodbyes to his mom, and to Peggy and then Nate. "Nate, I know you're kind of mad at me right now, but you have to be strong. I need you to take care of ma well I'm gone and it will only be for a couple of months. I'll be back soon." Nate hugged his brother and he didn't want to let him go. "It's going to be okay Nate, you just wait and see." When Michael got on the bus to leave, he knew he would be back to take care of the people that he loved the most. He would finally be able to keep them all safe.

* * *

About six weeks into Michael's basic training Madeline got word that Peggy had been killed in a terrible car accident. It weighed on her heavily about what she should do with that information. She knew Michael would be devastated and she didn't want to jeopardize his training; if he quit or got kicked out he would end up in jail. She decided with a heavy heart to wait until he graduated to tell him about his fiancé. A decision she didn't know if he would ever forgive her for.

About six weeks into training Michael quit getting letters from Peggy. He had about two minutes to call home, so he called his grandmother's house. Peggy was supposed to be staying there. "Hello Nana, its Michael."

"Hello honey, it's good to hear your voice."

"Nana, I'm sorry I don't have a lot of time to talk, is Peggy there?"

"No son, she's not here."

"Man that's a bummer, please tell her I'm sorry I missed her, I haven't got any mail from her in over a week. Is everything okay with her?" He heard the hesitation in his grandmother's voice, and he was concerned. "Is everything okay with Peggy? She still didn't answer. Nana is the baby alright? What's going on?"

"Honey you need to call your mama, that's all I can say right now."

"I don't have time to call her, tell me what's going on!"

"Michael, call your mother."

Michael was worried out of his mind but he only had two minutes on the phone, and it would be another week until he could call home. It was time for him to hang up and he still didn't have any answers.

All week long several scenarios played out in his mind. He thought maybe Scott hurt Peggy, or maybe she changed her mind about marrying him. He thought maybe something happened to the baby and nobody wanted to tell him.

The only thing he could do was throw himself even harder into his training. He tried not to think about all the terrible possibilities of why he wasn't getting mail from Peggy anymore, and why his grandmother wouldn't tell him what was going on.

Madeline was upset with her mother for not covering for her; she didn't want anything upsetting Michael. She knew the next time he called home; she would have to tell him about Peggy. It broke her heart and she prayed that he wouldn't throw his life away after hearing about her accident.

The week had passed far too slowly, finally Michael had another two minutes to call home, and so this time he phoned his mother.

"Hi Mom, what's going on? Why haven't I heard from Peggy?"

"Michael, I'm so sorry, I wanted to wait to tell you until you were done with training, but Peggy had a terrible car accident."

"Oh my god mom, where is she? How is she doing? How's the baby?

"Michael, she didn't make it. Honey she's dead."

"What the hell? You're telling me she's dead, mom?"

"Yes, Michael."

"Why didn't you contact me? I could have gone to her, I could have been by her side, maybe if I was there she would have fought to hold on mom!"

"Michael, honey, don't…there was nothing you could've done. She died instantly, baby. Peggy's mother was driving and apparently she was higher than a kite."

"Why was she with her, she was supposed to be staying at grandma's house!"

"She finally told her mother about the baby, and her mother seemed to be happy for her. Peggy's mom wanted to take her to her doctor's appointment. She picked her up from grandma's house and it happened on the way to the appointment."

"You let her go with her? You said you would take care of her while I was gone mom."

"Honey, I couldn't stop her from going with her mom, there was nothing I could do."

Michael had nothing left to say to his mother, and he hung up the phone. He wasn't sure what he was going to do now. He went back to his barracks and thought about Peggy, he knew he would never be the same again.

Madeline knew her son was hurting and there was nothing she could do to help him. She wondered if he would make it through his training.

Michael knew he had only one choice, he would become the best soldier he could possibly be, he never wanted to go back home, he never wanted to see his mother again, and that day he decided where ever this new life took him; he would never look back. Michael didn't know it, but that day changed the course of the rest of his life, and the lives of so many other people he would someday help.


End file.
